Red
by MTkurbs4xx
Summary: Modern Little Red Riding Hood. He's the boy under a curse that makes him human by day and monster by night. She's the girl who keeps having re-occurring dreams about running through the woods after something that doesn't want to be found. Could they somehow be connected? Curses and dreams sure do work in strange ways after all...
1. Prologue: Rima's Dream

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara**

* * *

 **Prologue:**

Run.

Run. Run. Run. RUN!

She forces her arms to pump more, for her legs to move faster. She's not flying fast enough across the ground.

Faster.

The word repeats over and over in her mind.

Go faster.

Her lungs ache as she pushes herself even more.

FASTER!

The ache turns into a burn and her lungs feel like they are trying to force their way out of her chest. Her legs have gone numb as she takes another large gulp of air. Following the trail that she knows by heart despite being tread by so few, she keeps going, welcoming the cooless of the night. Lead only by the full moon hanging overhead, she sees the bare trees' silouttes that are illuminated by her light source in the forest. Something that used to scare her, the scenery. Always so eerie and dark and only seeing black twisted branches, you really couldn't blame her. But now, she found the hauting look beautiful in its own strange, wierd way. Comforting even. The thought gives her even more motivation and resolve to find him and get him back.

 _Wait for me_ , she thinks, leaves cracking and crunching underneath her feet. Her long, curly, ulruly blond hair gets pushed back from the wind giving her a clear view of what's in front of her along with rosy cheeks and a red nose. She comes to a sudden halt though, with a heaving chest. She needs a break and some way to let out all of her pent up emotions. Frustration being one of the more dominant feelings. Whipping her head from side to side, she looks for something that doesn't want to be found with large, honey-brown colored eyes. Coming up empty, she begins to snap.

This isn't what was supposed to happen. They were supposed to get through this **_together_**. As a **_team_**. A **_unit_**. As **_one_**. Hiding was **NOT** part of the plan in any way, shape, or form.

"You were supposed to wait for me!" She screams into the night, whirlwind of emotions finally being let out. Her voice bounces off the trees, repeating the last three words of her sentence.

 _Wait for me._

 _Wait for me._

 _Wait for me._


	2. Prologue: Nagi's Curse

**This is still the prologue and the chapters posted will be short due to it being the school year and all.**

 **I don't own Shugo Chara**

 **WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IS KIND OF DEPRESSING! I didn't realize the fact until I actually read over it to revise and edit.**

 **Other than that, enjoy.**

* * *

He came in the fall.

Leaves swirled past him and hit his windshield as he drove down a dusty, well known road, the sounds of _pops and_ _chinks_ heard every now and then when a small piece of gravel or two found its way out from under the cover of a fallen leaf and became airborne only to hit the underside of his car and sail back down to the ground with an inaudible _thump_. He kept going until his keen eyes picked out an almost invisible road that led into Wolf Forest. Turning left, he followed the barely trodden route while looking around at the familiar surroundings which were bathed in the moonlight, and making more turns seemingly at random. The trees he passed were almost, if not completely naked, their skinny and gnarled branches showing plainly to those who looked upon them. The seemed to sag, as if held down by and invisible force or heavy weight, a large burden. They appeared weary and made you pity them, the reason though, unknown.

The man moving deeper into the forest was not much better off. Even though he was only twenty-five years old, the experiences that he had been through gave others the impression that he was much older not only mentally, but physically as well. Thirty at least, they would say, and looking very good for his age. What they saw was only a façade for him to hide behind though. Now alone in his car, driving, he let the weight of his cursed burden show how much it really effected him. From his hunched over posture, sagging shoulders, and skinny figure that made it look as if he had collapsed into himself to his smooth, unblemished porcelain skin, that though beautiful, had taken a strange hue of greyness to it instead of a healthy, rosy pink. His cheeks were sunken in from the lack of food and his beautiful chocolate brown eyes were dull with eyelids that hung low over them. His hair was limp instead of glossy and his lips were chapped and cracked. He was a man without hope: tired, weary and broken. For him, there was no reason to live, so why was he still breathing? Stopping his car, he got out and looked up.

It's a full moon tonight.

He begrudgingly smiled up at it despite its symbolism: Height of power, peak of clarity, fullness, obtainment of desire. He should have chosen a night where the waning moon had the spotlight. Where letting go and surrendering was what was encouraged. Release. That sounded nice. _Well_ , he tells himself with a shrug, _at least its pretty_ and walks forward with the moon's beam as his flashlight. It illuminated the trees' limbs and had them give off an eerie glow that made the hardships they suffered through even more prominent.

They too were tired of this and it was time for him to put an end to their misery and his as well. Reaching the mouth of the old abandoned mining cave that he had sought out, he looked up once more at the full moon before turning away, taking achingly slow steps towards the cave entrance, pausing only when a jumbled mess of words found their way to him in the otherwise silent night.

 _'Wait for me.'_ they said to him, pleading and desperate.

He only shook his head sadly and, unaware of the tear slidig down his cheek, whispered, 'It's too late.'

The wind picked up all of a sudden and carried the words that he didn't dare voice away while the trees moaned as they swayed, taking the unspoken message to his mysterious other half in the form of Telephone. ' _ **You**_ are too late.' they whisper sadly while the wind pushed back her hair from her face and ears so that she could hear the relayed message properly. Seconds later a loud, high pitched scream was heard mixed with anguish and sorrow. The mingled together to create a cry that was frustrated, angry, broken, and scared.

Lost.

The hairs on his body stood on end upon hearing the wail and the man, not being able to take it anymore, darted into the blackness of the abandoned mining cave, hands groping blindly along the rough walls to guide him somewhat in the never ending darkness that surrounded him. stopping only when he could run no more, the hand which he had put on the wall to lead him dropped to his side, bloody and scraped up. He leaned his back against the cave's uneven wall before sliding down, it's sharp cutting edges unfelt by him. Panting still, he sucked in deep breaths of the poisonous gasses mixed with the air, the anguished cry of his other half echoing mercilessly in his head. Repeating over and over again. It's one of the last things he heard, how lost the cry sounded, before his eyelids began to droop and his consciousness slowly began to get stolen away from him. A smile appeared on his face, grim and tired before he let sleep overcome him.

He was lost too.

They both were.


	3. Robber

**Chapter 1**

It's dark in the town named Little Red when she leaves to go home, with stars sparkling in the sky overhead and street lamps illuminating the pavement beneath her feet. Her pink hair, woven in a loose braid down her back and confined by a black rubberband, swings with her body as she turns to close up shop, a little bookstore that has survived the tests of time and is her precious baby.

Still sore on not being able to live there as well, she stretches to get rid of the souring thought, closing her eyes as she does so before shifting her blue denim messager bag a little bit higher on her shoulder. As she walks, she begins to hum and grins when she sees her house come into view a few minutes later, not even paying attention to the other houses' silouttes or the poorly lit street names nailed in to the poles at the corners of the sidewalks. Hurrying up the blue steps and onto her porch, she's about to open the door to her white colored house when a growl is let out from behind her. She stiffens. The animal lets out another one that's low and menacing, feral. The hairs on the back of her neck rise along with the hair on her arms while goosbumps break out all over her body. The animal has gotten closer.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm herself down, the pinkette slowly cranes her neck to look behind her and wishes she hadn't upon finding a big, unnaturally large dog with black hair and brown eyes that came up to at least her ribs in height. She gulps. The thing wasn't even an Irish Wolfhound! Eyes wide, she slowly turns around to get a better look and sees that its eyes seem to a bright hazel-chocolate color, but can't tell for sure on her dimly lit house and makes a mental note get a front porch light the next time she went to the store.

Still trying to pinpoint its exact eye color, she doesn't realize how intense her stare is until it lets out an almost uncomfortable whine, successfully snapping her out of her observations and causing her to blink in slight disorientation as she becomes aware of her surroundings once more. Whipping her head back and forth to get rid of the haziness in her brain, she pushes away the loose strands of hair that have escaped her braid and stares at the creature with the elusive eye color again, this time with less scrutiny. It has gotten closer to her without her noticing for the second time that night. They just look dumbly at each other before it all of a sudden lunges causing the girl to let out a screech of fear.

Not wasting any more time, the dog catches her bag in its teeth and pulls her forward, off of her porch. Stumbling down the steps, she is yanked down when it makes a sharp turn to the left, forcing her to land on her stomach with an 'Oomph!'. Swinging herself around to stand up, she faces her front yard only to feel a heavy weight climb on top of her and keep her down. Struggling, she does her best to get up again only to be stopped by a low warning growl near her ear. It's loud and resounds through her body as the realization finally dawns on her that the dog had thrown itself on top of her. Why though? she wonders.

Her question is answered seconds later when a robber flies out the front door of her house instead of the back like a smart person would with a bag full of something in one hand. In the other is a big, blunt object. A bat she soon identifies. The pinkette almost cries out at seeing the weapon, but doesn't due to the heavy weight that immediately pushes out all the air from her lungs and sees her as a stinking cushion instead of a human! Thanks to no porch light though, the robber didn't see her and it dawns on her that the dog hid her from sight with its black fur which blended in perfectly with the night sky. Smiling, she wraps her arms around its neck once it gets off of her and says greatfully, "Thank you."

 _Even without a weapon, that robber could have still been dangerous,_ she thinks. Tightening her arms a bit more and kissing the top of its head, she tells it, "I know it's not much for compensation,"-the dog seems to whine in protest at that-"but please accept it."

It raises its head as she pulls away and brushes its cheek against hers as if to say, "Thanks accepted," making her smile.

"As much as I would like to keep you, I have an allergy to dogs, see?" She shows it her her cheek that it had just recetly touched along with her bare arms to reveal small welts that were her skin color, but would quickly turn red from scratching. They were the size of a person's pinky fingernail. "I call them hives even if they aren't. They'll go away once I wipe them down with a wet wash cloth."

It feels funny to explain this to a dog, but she didn't really care, not after this animal had just saved her life. "I can't take care of you," she mutters to herself underneath her breath, listing different people off on her fingers, "Tadase doesn't have space, Kairi still takes care of his sister even though she is married." The girl pauses briefly before adding as an afterthought, "Weird." Two more fingers flick straight up from their previously lightly fisted position. "Yaya isn't exactly responsible, but neither is Utau or Kukai." One hand completely open now. "That only leaves..." she brightens before the enthusiasm deflates at the prospect of her last choice. Weighing the pros and cons silently in her head, she lets out a sigh before looking at the curious dog and, with a shrug, says, "It's worth a shot."


	4. Meet My Saviour

**Chapter 2**

She wakes from her dream with a start, body shaking uncontrollably and slick with sweat. Her breaths come out hard and ragged while she clutches fistfuls of her red and white comforter tightly, knuckles turning white from her grip. Her eyes, already naturally large, are stretched wide open as she wildly takes in her surroundings and struggles to calm herself down. It was that stupid dream again! The one where she's running through Wolf Forest looking for something that doesn't want to be found. It always ends with her yelling at the sky, but the freaky thing is that she got an answer this time. And the answer that she got was what made her wake up like she did.

 _'You're too late.'_

Those three words were enought to throw her mind into a panic and scare her to her very core. They etched themselves into her brain in a way that made it impossible to forget. She shivers as they repeat in her head once again with startling vividness and immediately scowls, hating how much they got to her, how much the dreams bothered her. She doesn't even know who or what this mystery object in her dream is and yet she's hung up on it like some type of obsessed fool! Something whispers to her in the back of her head though that _it's a who. It's a who, not a what,_ to which she grumbles out loud as she trudges to her bathroom to wash herself off, arms crossed in useless defiance as the voice returns, "Like I care."

 _Yes you do._

"Do not."

 _Do too._

"Go away."

 _It's a man._

She stops in her tracks. "What?" She asks before cringing at how eager she sounded.

 _I said,_ the voice says slowly, tone laced with amusement, _the 'who' is a man._

"Why are you even telling me this?"

 _Because I can._ Responds the voice smugly.

The blond sighs at the smugness. "I really hate it when you do this to me, Kusukusu."

 _What?_ It asks with mock innocents.

"Get me all curious about who it is that's in my dreams. Besides, aren't men supposed to chase the women, not the other way around?"

 _Dunno._

"That makes two of us." Washing her face off, she leaves her bedroom and walks straight into the kitchen space which is also part of the living and dining room area. Always nice to have everything in one place is her philosophy. Making some tea, she stretches as she waits and lets out a yawn as she toys with the thought of her arguing with her conscience who she named Kusukusu just to make it more interesting.

 _I'm not your conscience though._

"Yes you are."

 _No, I am not._

"Then what are you?" Kusukusu's response is cut off by the cry of the blond's teapot. Pouring the hot water into a cup, she takes out a tea bag from its packet and puts it in, not even sparing a glance at its name as she does so. As long as it wasn't a Sleepytime tea bag, she would be fine. Another yawn escapes her mouth and as she's about to take a sip of her beverage, her doorbell rings. She groans and ignores the sound while making a mental note to disable it later. It's rung again. Dutifully blocking the noise out, she tries to take her first sip once more only for a knocking pattern to stop her. _Knock-knock-knockety-knock-knock-knock-knock- **WHAM!**_ She waits for the encore just to make sure it's who she thinks it is. **_SMACK-BANG-THUMP!_ ** and... expletives are shouted from behind her closed doorway and then some. She listens in, whistling quietly at her friend's impressive word use in curses and even raises an eyebrow at one or two creative swears before opening her red barrier that kept her safe from the outside world. Keeping her eyebrow raised as she greets the taller girl, she says "Never heard some of those words before."

Hopping up and down on her good foot while simontaniously cradling her bad one, the other girl looks up and says, "Nice to see you too, Rima and do we really need the kick in there?"

"Yup. Ice is on the counter if you go inside and get it yourself."

Amu rolls her eyes, but doesn't comment. "Before that though,"

"Hm?" Turning around, Rima sees the pinkette step to the side and reveal to her a huge animal with beautiful brown eyes and black hair that comes up to her neck in height. Yeah, the thing was abnormally big and her abnormally short height didn't help any. Eyes growing large, she quickly yanks Amu inside her house and slams the door shut, locking it before whipping around to face the other girl and say in a panic, "Holy crap! There's a grizzly bear outside of my door! Why would you bring an animal that's bigger than me to my house?!"

"N-no, Rima!-"

"And I am unarmed too! You know that! Wait! Where's my shotgun?"

"Please listen-"

"Ok yeah, that's right! I sold it on Ebay after being unable to figure it out how to turn the safety off. I couldn't even find it on the stupid thing!"

"You were too stubborn to ask for help as well." Chimes in Amu. Rima just grumbles and looks at her. "Now that I got your attention Rima, please listen."

"What?" She snaps, still aware of what's outside her door.

"That wasn't a grizzly bear, but a dog."

"No. I'm pretty sure I would know what a dog would look like, and let me tell you, that wasn't it. Too big."

"Just look again."

"No way!"

"Yes." Taking the petite blond by the shoulders, Amu spins her around, unlocks the door while ignoring her loud protests and flings it open. The animal is still there and waiting patiently, sitting with its head cocked slightly to one side as if to question the blond's sanity.

"What are you looking at?" She growls. The dog says nothing. (Duh).

"Be nice."

"Why? It's a bear."

"Dog."

"Bear."

"Dog."

"Be-"

"Woof!" Looks like it decided to join in. Fun.

"Dog."

"Grizzly bear that can bark."

"Rima."

"Fine. Dog." She agrees begrudgingly as she examins... it. A dog named 'It', that fits. "What's is its name?"

"I was hoping you would do the honors."

"Ok. It's name is It."

"Huh? You can't name it that!"

"You just called it It therefore making the name official."

"No. Choose again."

"No! Then it would mean I'm its caretaker!"

"That's the whole point!"

"No."

"Rima, this dog just saved my life from a flippin' _robber_. You are going to name it- the dog again whether you want to or not."

"Fine." She turns around and opens her door wide for both of them to come in. "I'll make a list."


	5. Amu the Worrywart

**Chapter 3**

She finds a notepad smushed between her stomach and legs while a pen found its home in her hand, snuggled by the web found inbetween her pointer finger and thumb when she wakes. Her knees are brought up to her chest and her arms are resting ontop of her legs, crossed neatly while her head is supported by the top of the chair. Yawning, she uncurls herself from the chair, surprising comfy, and stretches with ease before looking over at the clock that hung on her friend's wall. She freezes. "WE'RE LATE!" Screeches Amu. "RIMA, WAKE UP!"

"Amu," says her friend calmly, wincing at the loud tone of voice used as the pitch climbs higher and higher, "I've been up for a while now."

"Then why didn't you wake me up?!" The woman exclaims while straightening out her rumpled clothes in an attempt to look presentable.

"I wasn't paying attention to the time."

"What were you doing?" She moves into her friend's bathroom to fix her hair.

"Toying around." Replies the blond vaguely as she uses the pinkette's distraction to stealthily hide the journal that she wrote her dreams-nightmare actually- in. Sliding one of the drawers in her kitchen open, she places it quietly in the hiding spot along with her pen and closes it while turning away- unsuspiciously might she add. Exercising caution after remembering how sharp her friend really is despite how ditzy she easily comes off as, she covers up her actions by reaching for some fruit just above the drawer. They needed food for breakfast and extra measures never hurt anyone anyways. Plus, Amu didn't know anything about her little... episodes that made her into the insomniac that she is today, and she would like to keep it that way.

 _How long though?_ A familiar voice asks her inside her head.

"Huh?"

 _How long will you be able to hide it? The insomnia? The amount of used up journals piled up in your secret hiding places in your house? That trap door can only hold so much, Rima. Soon the floor boards will start to bulge upwards and then what? You already used up all the space behind the clock,_ Rima risks a quick glance at the clock that hangs on her wall ticking away, blissfully unaware of her inner turmoil, _and the others that you hide with the paper covers of different hardback books. Do you know how risky that is?! What if someone wants to borrow that supposed "book"? Then what? Hiding those dream journals in plain sight is way too dangerous! You can only hide them for so long, and what's even worse is that one wrong move will be game over!_

"I know that Kusukusu!" Whispers Rima harshly, checking to make sure Amu didn't notice her odd behaviour. "I'm stressed enough without you adding to it!"

 _I'm sorry, I'm just frustrated. He's supposed to be coming soon and yet there's still no sign of him! What's worse is that if word gets out about your dreams, you'll be labelled as insane and become an outcast._

"Kusukusu, I am talking to myself already and named my conscience to make conversing more fun. If I get labelled insane, I'd say that they'd be one step ahead of me and heck, I may even help the others throw me out with a big smile on my face! That is how much I am questioning my own sanity! Mumbling under my breath to respond to you isn't exactly helping my case either, now is it."

 _Gah! For the last time Mashiro Rima, I. Am. Not. Your. Conscience._

"Yes, yes, because that is exactly what an entirely sane person would say to themselves. Anything to help me sleep at night."

 _WE ARE NOT THE SAME!_

"Chill, my dear conscience."

 _Shut it._

"You first."

 _... Fine._

"Thank you."

"Finally! Done!" Amu shouts as she walks out of the bathroom, long hair done in a fishtail. "You ready, Rima?"

"Yeah." She tosses her friend an apple before opening the door and heading out.

* * *

"We are not naming the dog Chicken Foot, Duck Tape, or Meatball Breath and that is final."

"But Amu!-"

"Don't 'But Amu!' me," says the woman as she opens the door to her bookshop and steps inside.

"Fine. But, uh," starts Rima as a thought hits her, "what exactly did we do with the dog? You know, before we left? We did feed him, right?"

Her friend freezes.

"We didn't, did we." It was supposed to come out as a question but was stated instead.

"Oh goodness!" Amu takes a deep breath and from the telltale sign, Rima knows that she needs to calm her down before she starts thinking about the little error too much, but acts too slowly, allowing her friend to get a good headstart on her. In worrying situations like these, Amu having a headstart, no matter how small, is never good. "Whatifwegetchargedforanimalabuse?" She starts. Oh crud, thinks Rima, here we go. "Imeanifyouthinkaboutitwedidneglectthepoorthingandnowitsprobablyhungryandwaitingatthedoorforsomeonetofeeditandohmygoodness-"

"AMU!" Rima tries to break into her rant to no avail and begins to worry because not only was there no opening appearing for her to take, but also, her friend hadn't taken a breath at all since she began and she had suspicions that she would end up fainting from the lack of oxygen. She listens some more: "wearesuchterriblepeoplebecausenowthatIthinkaboutitneglectingananimalunderourcareisequaltoabusesotechnically-" Ah ha! And there was her opening opportunity! "Don't you dare get technical with me at-" she looks down at her watch, "- 7:00 in the morning Amu!"

"And-w-wha? What is it Reems?"

"Yeesh girl! Ever since you had to take care of Ami a few summers ago, you've become more of a worrywart."

"Hey! All of a sudden having to taking care of a little girl all by myself for the whole summer freaked me out! It wasn't easy either!"

"Yeah, I could tell." She says flatly, "We all could."

"Rima!"

"Anyways," sings the blond woman sweetly, "I will go back and feed the dog and get us some proper breakfast while you watch over the store, kapeesh?"

"Kapeesh."

"And no passing out from worry while I'm not here as well, ok?"

"I won't! Is that even possible?!"

"With you, I'm thinking that anything is possible." She leaves the store with a small smile upon her lips and a weird feeling in her chest. It felt like an invisible person was pushing her from behind while something else pulled her forward.

Tugging her almost.

Really weird, she thinks.


	6. Hidden

**Chapter 4**

He really should have chosen a better hiding spot that night, and by really, he meant really _really_ should have, but with the little blond- Rima he believes her name is- being an insomniac and the pink haired woman, Amu, both staying in the same place in a small, open spaced home, it's quite hard to do so without catching one or both of the girls' attention, and so, here he is, hiding in a closet that's too small for him, waiting until all he can hear is silence and the sound of his own breathing. When he finally deems it safe to come out of the closet (A/N: literally, not metaphorically) in the blond's bathroom, he lets out a sigh of relief as he remembers how close he came to being found out, thinking that he was a gonner when he saw the pink haired woman come in to brush her hair in front of the mirror. That can't happen again, he tells himself.

His heart had been pounding so loud that he was afraid she would be able to hear it and his lack of sleep hadn't helped him any either. He had been in there for a while and almost fell out when she turned around to look at the closet door. Luckily though, she had left and taken Rima with her. After that, he had gotten out and stretched and moved through her house, memorizing where everything was placed and where all the exits and potential exits were before making his way over to the kitchen counter to get something light to eat. He really didn't like to steal like his brother did, but he labelled this as an extreme case in his book and just went for it. He guessed that in the end, food was his downfall since he had a tendency to solely focus on that one apple or orange and block everything else out which was the reason he didn't hear the door swing open or the small fiery blond shout out something that was too incoherent for him to understand as he dived down under after snatching up his prize.

Food is now also to blame for his awkward present position in this situation, pressing himself flush against the cold hardwood floor, barely breathing for fear of her possibly having superhearing, delicious fruit held firmly in one hand and listening in on a conversation that a possible insane woman was having with herself. Sociopath maybe? Or... Oh dear Lord, please don't let her secretly be homicidal! He was still too young to die! Yup, today just wasn't his day. Her start up didn't help to calm him down either.

"MAKE IT STOP!" She cries out. Make what stop?! He thinks in panic, not being able to see the small woman grab a fistful of her shirt in the chest area, right above her heart with one hand, the other getting lost in her mop of long, curly, unruly hair. "Shut up!" He hears her say next. "Just-No... Stop! Nobody is here and **_HE_** is most _definitely_ not here! We are the only ones here!... No! Kusukusu!" Kusukusu? Who's that? he thinks, I thought the woman's name was Rima! "No more! There is no man here and there is certainly nobody hiding behind the kitchen counter!" Crud. That's his exact location. "... No one is laying flush against the floor!" That's his exact position. Oh sh- "We are standing!... I'm the only one here!... No!... No! Stop arguing with me!... There is not a red apple missing!"

He freezes.

Looks at the apple in his hand.

The red apple.

Oh no!

Food really is his downfall!

"Just hush! We, I mean I-I am going to Utau and Kukai's ramen shop to get breakfast there, do you hear me!" She mumbles under her breath the next part, "If they haven't eaten all of it, that is." Turning sharply on her heel, she strolls out the door, slamming it shut without looking back and leaves the hidden man alone with his newly found fears of short blond females who have long curly hair and go by the name of Rima... or is it Kusukusu? Or both?

He gets up off the floor a while after she leaves, making sure to put the red apple back and gives a short, but heartfelt apology to the intimidating fruit before sneaking out of the house, hopping that he's does not get caught by the police as he makes a B-line for Wolf Forest.


	7. Meet the Family

**Haha! I finally managed to update after being in a slump! Thank you all for being so patient with me.**

 **Chapter 5**

* * *

 _But I swear he was there!_

"Just hush!"

 _Rima!_

"No!" She growls under her breath.

 _Will you just list-_

"No! I refuse." By now, Rima is marching down the sidewalk towards Kukai and Utau's romen shop, huffing all the way there. She passes familiar houses and people along the way who greet her cheerfully, or are about to until they see the frustrated mood that she is in and opt to wisely stay out of her way instead.

The shop comes into her view a few minutes later, its bright, slightly tacky multi-colored letters announcing who the owners are through its name of 'Kukai and Utau's Ramen Shop'. On the door is a large hanging sign that says the shop is open for business with a few other stickers plastered on there in the shape of ramen bowls. The windows are large and hide nothing that goes on in the store from the customers. Likewise, the people in the store can see everything that happens outside which is why it's impossible to sneak in and a disadvantage for Rima because- "Auntie Rima!" two small, high pitched voices squeal out in delight upon spotting her. Ah, she had been caught. Not good at all. Dread replaces her previous frustration as three pairs of hands- wait three?!- grab her from all different angles. Oh mercy! She thinks as she plasters on a fake smile to hide her discomfort. She hadn't even made it into the store yet for Pete's sake! Looking down reluctantly, her big brown eyes meet two pairs of innocent luminescent eyes staring back at her.

First is Daichi who has brown eyes just a few shades darker than her own with a shock of mint green hair. He takes more after his father than he does his mother, hence the sports clothes of a loose yellow shirt, white knee-lenght pants and white headband with a yellow star to its right pushing back the extra unruly strands of green.

Next comes Iru with her short bob of purple-black hair that frames her face perfectly and makes her red eyes pop even more. Her headband matches her hair perfectly, making it practically invisible and making the purple horns look like a natural part of her. Her attire of a white shirt with a red shaped bat across the chest mixed with a bat shaped skort and knee-high boots, both things which are also red are the only subtle warnings of how mischievous she really is in personality. Something she definitely inherited from Utau.

Lastly comes Eru, an angel of a child. Her hair is short and curls at the tips, just brushing the tops of her shoulders while her pocilean skin glows brightly. Her long sleeve dress is a gentle pink that flows loosely to her knees and has pink wings sewn to the back of it, a big bow a few shades darker that the dress tied to the front near her neck. On her head is perched a yellow halo that she refuses to take off even when going to bed and lastly, but not least comes her eyes. Her eyes have long lashes that always brush against her cheeks because they are always closed, giving the impression that the child sleepwalks, but that's not the case at all.

She was born blind.

"Auntie Rima!" two voices squeal once again before their hands work their way up from her pants to her neck without her concent. If the two kids were good at anything, it was using her as a human playground to climb on. Sighing as she feels four small arms wrap themselves securely around her under her chin, she looks down and, with a soft smile unseen by the kids, picks up little blind Eru who waits patiently, small hands never leaving her leg. "I've got you Eru," she whispers to the silent girl before moving to open the door to the shop. The other two cheer loudly right in her ear. Holding back a wince, she walks up to the owners, debating whether or not she should despise the wedding bands that unite them together forever, and orders a long awaited breakfast for both Amu and herself while ignoring the smug looks that both Utau and Kukai share as they get her her food.

She had told them a while back that she was bad with kids and didn't like them to boot. The couple, in turn, made it their sole mission to have her take back what she said, having children of their own and going as far as making her their kids' aunt.

As Rima gets ready to leave with the food in tow, Utau tells her, "Rima! I'm pregnant again!"

The poor blond doesn't know whether she should faint or not.


	8. Newcomer

**Chapter 6**

The door to her little shop opens and Amu looks up expectantly from her computer, mouth open to thank Rima. What she does not expect though, is a man to enter instead. He isn't tall, dark and handsome, she notes, but he has a certain charm to him that makes him attractive in his own way. "Hello sir and welcome to my bookshop. How may I help you?" she asks the newcomer. They usually didn't get many strangers in their sleepy town since it was so secluded, so naturally, she was curious.

He just looks at her, oblivious to her now piqued curiosity, and smiles. "I'm just here to browse is all."

"Ok." She watches him closely as he moves about her shop which is a dainty little thing that has books shoved neatly into every open nook and cranny the place has to offer. Any spaces on the walls that weren't full of books on mounted shelves were on bookcases that twisted this way and that, creating a mini maze full of literature. It's also because of the lack of space that her store didn't have many windows, but more brightly shining lightbulbs instead. She smiles gently nonetheless as she does a quick sweep of her baby, pride welling in her chest at what she sees as she continues to watch him. She can't help but frown when he turns down one of the slanted isles near the back. Those were restricted. Didn't he read the signs? And that very isle he was heading down went towards something that was very valuable. "Hey!" She barks sharply. He doesn't hear her and continues on his way as if in a trance. "Hey!" She tries again, darting after him. She sees him reach for the door's knob found at the back of the store that was so well hidden, even _she_ forgot where it was sometimes and opens it to her horror. Then- ** _BAM_** ** _!_**

The man groans as he rubs the back of his head, long indigo hair pooling around him. One eye opens to look around while the other is closed shut from the pain.

"Rima! Oh thank goodness!"

"Darn right!"

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"That's good. Now, please get off of him."

"Wait wait wait wait. I just stopped this man, this newcomer, from getting his hands on that precious item and you're yelling at me to get off? As in, let him go? Where's the logic in that exactly?" The man pushes himself up to a sitting position causing Rima to tumble backwards. "Whoa!"

"Sorry," he says, looking at the two women sheepishly. Amu's eyes widen as she notices his eye color. A type of ochre, or hazel even. A bright hazel mixed with some other color. The man intrigues her even more. Something about his eyes seems so familiar to her. Just where has she seen them before? Meanwhile Rima gets up from the man she tackled and tosses the stranger a scowl. Her eyes narrow in suspicion and, upon seeing her best friend's gaze turn into complete infatuation, her suspicion turns into a strong distrust brought on by her envy while her scowl turns into a fierce snarl.

"Amu, I brought breakfast." She says with her arms crossed over her chest.

The pinkette ignores her and instead asks the man, "Do I know you from somewhere? Like, have we met before?"

"N-no, I don't think so." His voice is pleasant and soft and open and friendly and Rima despises him for it.

"Are you sure?" She sees Amu lean in closer for a better look and warning bells go off in her head. 'Alert! Alert! Some guys is taking away my best friend!' They say.

"Let's eat!" She shoves her way in between the two, one looking away with a slight blush adorning his cheeks at their shrinking proximity while the other fights to get a better look at his eye color. Heaving the taller girl up and away, she drags her to the front desk where books are bought and sets the food in front of her. Both their stomachs growl at the same time once the smell goes airborne.

Amu blushes and is about to eat when she look up at the stranger. "Would you like something to eat?"

"Uh, no thank you and sorry for the stunt I pulled back there. I guess I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn't hear you yell at me to stop." He quickly exits the shop before Amu can hound him with even more questions as guilt and embarrassment get the better of her.

Rima just stays quiet and observes the rest of the encounter with narrowed eyes and wonders why someone like him would tell such a straight faced lie.

She knew newcomers were bad news.


	9. Name

Now, one would think that a dog who saved Rima's best friend's life would be considered super smart, but now looking at the same animal sitting in the middle of her living room floor, she was having second thoughts.

The dog hadn't moved an inch ever since she took him in and worked to name him with Amu.

That was five days ago.

It's now Sunday.

Maybe it is bipolar! Thinks Rima dryly as she stares the statue dog down. It returns her gaze with its -as much as she hates to admit- beautiful eyes, and cutely, slightly cocked head. Oh, how she loathes the thing, and it's cuteness, and it's beautiful eyes that reminded her of the newcomer that recently stumbled into her friend's little bookshop on Tuesday and wooed her with his eyes. Those stupid eyes that left Amu as infatuated as can be. So infatuated that **HE** was always somehow brought up into every conversation that they had with his eyes this and his eyes that and they are just _**SO**_ familiar Rima, where have I seen them before?!

The blond rolls her eyes and lets out a huff, breaking eye contact with the dog and frowning as she turns her back on it. Not like it is going anywhere anyways. Five days it has been still, what harm could one more day do? She turns around to look at it once more before asking a rhetorical question. "Since we're stuck together from now on, what should I name you?" The dog that was staring so blankly at her before all of a sudden starts to scan the room frantically. Oh look, it has a pulse! She just grunts at the sarcastic thought that pops into her head and turns her back on it again. Making herself some tea, she lets the liquid slide down her throat and smiles as the warmth spreads through her body. Who needs a man when they can have tea to warm them up at night? Take that Kusukusu!

Rima hums happily under her breath as she takes another sip, blissfully ignoring the dog she seemingly sent into an unintentional tizzy. Oops, there goes his five-day streak. What's next? A sworn oath of silence? The dog would really rock that one. Finishing off the rest of her drink, the blonde stretches. Maybe she'd get a decent night's sleep tonight.

It was worth a shot.

Hand washing her cup, she puts it on the drying rack and moves towards her bedroom only to be stopped by her oversized, unwanted, adopted against her will, beast of a dog. In its mouth was a napkin that she used to write down her random craving of eggnog on. She snickers when he gives it to her. "You want to be called Eggnog?" She asks him. He lets out a protesting whine. "What? Would you prefer to just be called Egg instead?" Another whine. "Just Nog?" He looks up at her when she says that, a particular sparkle lighting up his eyes that wasn't there before. "Uh... Nog?" The sparkle grows brighter. "Nog. Nog. Nnnnnnnog," she repeats, holding out the 'N' in the name. He lets out a bark. She screams and scoots back to jump up onto the counter behind her. "Bad dog!" She says, pointing an accusing finger at his face. He whimpers apologetically. She brings her legs up and sits Indian style on her counter. "So, you like the name Nog?" He growls. She looks at him in confusion. If it's not Nog that he likes the sound of, then what is it? "No." She tries, taking off the 'G'. Another growl. "N," she says. He barks. "So you like the names that start with 'N.'" The dog gives a bob of his head. Dang, he really is cute! Rima finds herself thinking at the sight of the action. Frowning at the unwelcome thought, she stops her brain from thinking anymore by deciding that it's safe to get down. Inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, she lets her legs hang over the edge of the counter and slides down to the ground where the dog is. "Just what should I name you?" she asks him.

 _I don't know,_ Kusukusu randomly replies.

"There's gotta be something, though. Some name that he likes." She says, thinking out loud.

 _Nathan maybe? Try it._

"Nathan?" The dog whines. Nope. Not it.

 _Natsu._

"Seriously Kusukusu, Natsu?" Rima asks under her breath. She watches as the dog's eyes widen considerably upon hearing her speak her conscience's name. He scoots away from her as much as her open spaced house would allow while still staying in her line of sight and Rima wonders what made him so scared of her. If anything, she was scared of him, or wary at least. "Kusukusu, I don't think he likes that name." She murmurs quietly, trying not to freak him out him any further.

 _Nefarious._

"No."

 _Nick._

"Nick?" Whine. No.

 _Nascar!_

"No!"

 _I don't know!_

"That makes two of us," the blond sighs, not bothering to worry about the scared dog anymore. "I give up." She walks towards her room once again, just reaching her doorway before her phone rings. Groaning, she looks at the screen and accepts the call. "What do you want Amu?" She asks bluntly.

Used to dealing with her friend when she's like this, Amu answers cheerfully, "I got it."

"Got what?"

"What do you mean 'Got what'?! Didn't I already tell you?"

"I wasn't listening, and I mean exactly that. What did you get Amu?"

"His name!"

"Whose?"

"The man that you tackled!"

"Come again?"

"His name is Nagihiko!"

"Nagihiko?!" Rima loudly exclaims as she sits on her bed, ignoring the dog that all of a sudden runs into her room with a wagging tail and eyes shining to the max.

"Yeah!"

"When?! And why do you sound so excited?!"

"He came back to apologize before I closed up shop and guess what he got me to get complete forgiveness!"

"What?!" Rima asks in mock interest, exaggerating the emotion put into that one word. As curious as she was, a man making a move on her friend -apologetically or not- was not okay with her. At. All. Probably an ulterior motive hidden somewhere in his actions, she was sure of it! Besides, Amu is a natural beauty and therefore, any guy who doesn't try to make a move on her is crazy! Or he has other reasons why.

"He got me a bouquet of flowers!" The pinkette squeals on the other end of the line. The blonde pulls the phone away from her ear a bit and silently gags at her friend's super girly actions. "Purple Hyacinths!" And now her phone is turned over and held up to show off her orange and white polka-dotted case as she pretends to barf up the polka-dotted pattern. She puts it back to her ear just in time to catch: "Which means in flower language-"

"I know, I know!" Rima cuts in. " It means 'I'm sorry' or 'Please forgive me.'" She tries to fight down the growing jealousy and protective instinct while ignoring the dog that watches her with rapt attention as if absorbing all that he could from her side of the conversation and shifts her phone to a more comfortable hearing position. "What happened after that?"

"He asked if it would be okay to come back to the store."

"Huh." So that's his ulterior motive thinks Rima in triumph. "He's using you."

"No, he's not."

"Why else would he suck up to you and say sorry?"

"Because he's a kind person."

Suuuure." She says unbelievingly, loading as much sarcasm as she can into her tone.

"He is!" Amu insists. "Besides, what would you know? You've only met him once."

"And meeting him twice is so much better?" She says skeptically.

"For someone who chooses not to see the good in others, you'd be surprised," is Amu's bitter retort.

"Whatever." Rima's voice changes to monotone as she speaks.

"Brat." Frustration turns the pinkette's usually warm affectionate word choice for her friend into a cold snarl. Just why did Rima have to go and be like that? She never gave anyone a chance when they deserved one from her!

"Wow, very creative Amu."

"Please cut the sarcasm."

"Can't. It's a part of me."

"His name is Nagihiko." And with that, Amu hangs up.

"Nagihiko, eh?" Rima breathes out tiredly. Looks like she got Amu mad. The blond hangs her head only to find the dog right by her side near the edge of her bed. She frowns. "I never called you." He whines. "Go away." The dog instead jumps up onto the bed with her. "No. No. No!" Rima shouts as he lays down and puts his oversized paws and head in her lap before she can scramble away. She groans and lets out another sigh. Her friend seems to really like this Newcomer. Who is a man. Who has the power to make Amu fall in love with him and either have her forget about her best friend or break the pinkette's heart. Both options scared Rima badly. "Nagihiko," she murmurs. The dog barks and she flinches. "You like that name?" Another bark. Another flinch. A grin reaches her face. "Looks like I know what to call you now."


	10. Category: The Devil

He had hoped staying still would make him invisible to the scary little blond, Rima, and concentrated hard for as long as he could to be a living statue. Of course, he would tend to his needs when she wasn't around, like jumping up on his hind legs to hit the kitchen sink with his front legs and balance on the small flat surface where the sink and the counter met. He would then proceed to turn the triangular knob that had "cold" written on it with his teeth and drink from the faucet. For food and bathroom breaks, he would just wait until she left at 6:00 AM to go to work. The brilliant plan that was going so well backfired though when she randomly asked him what his name should be. His concentration snapped and from then on, he focused on giving her hints to the name he wanted. Looking back on his actions now, as he organizes a shelf of books, he realizes that offering his real name might not have been the best idea he ever had. Oh well, it was all in the past. Still, the mistakes of the past will most likely come back to haunt him sooner than he'd like.

The door to the small shop opens, and Amu's voice floats through the store in a cold greeting. "Hello, Rima."

There's no response, but he still stiffens at the sound of her name knowing how... unhappy the little blond would be upon finding out the little arrangement he and Amu had done behind her back. No, screw unhappy, Rima was going to be downright furious. Gulping, the man decides to get the whole predicament over with sooner rather than later and moves to the front. Almost reaching the two women, he prepares himself for an earful and perhaps even another tackle. He does not, however, prepare himself to see the small blond stiffen and wince before clutching her head in her hands and slowly double over.

Amu was already by her side with worry etched on her beautiful face before her friend hit the ground.

* * *

She dreams of the forest.

All around her it was dying.

The trees were bare with twisted branches and were slowly withering away. The moon was full again, and its bright beams did nothing to help the slow decay, but instead showed her just how sick the forest was. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she did a 360. Everything fought to live despite the odds and yet, a sense of hopelessness still surrounded her. It was like the forest knew it wouldn't make it through to the end; like it had been through this experience before. An urgency crept into her heart to save the forest. No matter the cost, she had to help. "How?" she asked out loud, "How can I help you?" She meant it to be a rhetorical question, but soon the trees began to murmur; bending and swaying as if blown by an invisible wind. Together, they played Telephone with each other until they reached her and whispered to her pleadingly, "Please, please help us. Help us by saving him..."

"Save him? How can I save you by saving someone I don't even know?"

The trees only repeated the same words over like a mantra, and she grew fearful for the forest as their whispered plea grew weaker with each passing second. "Please, please help us. Help us by saving him..."

* * *

Rima wakes with the forest's words echoing in her head and a killer headache. Someone offers her a glass of water and aspirin as she massages her pounding temple and Rima accepts it gratefully. Downing the pills with the liquid, the blond looks over to her right and freezes. It was the man she had tackled earlier. What's he doing here, with her, sitting in the high backed wooden chair with a sad excuse for a cushion underneath his butt? Where's Amu? That's her chair, not his! Well, technically, Rima tells herself as she surveys the familiar guest room in Amu's house, it's not hers as in her favorite chair that she reserves for herself only, but that was beside the point. "What are you doing here, Eggplant Head?" she says with a frown, eyes narrowing in suspicion. The man's eyes widen in surprise at the random nickname and does a quick search of the small room. "Yeah, it's you I'm talking to, Purple Head."

He smiles good-naturedly and sticks his hand out. "Fujisaki Nagihiko, or Nagihiko Fujisaki." He introduces politely. "Sorry, I was in Japan for a while visiting family."

She rudely waves him off. "Either way of introduction is fine, Newcomer. There's quite a few Japanese here as well. You still didn't answer my question."

"Oh, right! I'm here to watch over you until Amu gets back with refreshments. She even closed the shop-"

"What?!" Rima screeches. Slamming the empty glass on top of the small rectangular nightstand next to the bed, she flings off the sheets and makes a break for the door.

"Ah, w-wait!" He yells as he hooks an arm around her waist. Rima stretches out desperately for the door, fingertips just brushing the shiny brass knob. "Amu gave me strict orders to keep you in bed, and I can't disobey my boss's orders!"

They both freeze. Slowly turning around, Rima looks over her shoulder at Nagihiko causing shivers of fear to slide down his spine. He hadn't prepared enough for this moment, and now he was going to pay the price for not knowing just what he was going up against. "What. Did. You. Just. Say?" Her voice is sickly sweet, and Nagihiko starts to review all the possible options this small blond could be correctly categorized as: Human? No. Nobody could be this scary. Persephone, maybe? Pretty, blond, pale, wife of the god Hades. She isn't married, though, nor is she tall or slender. Demeter? The goddess _did_ almost kill the whole human race by starvation. She didn't have a daughter, though. Please, don't let her have one, prays the man as he realizes the chance that she actually could. Angels are out of the question. That only leaves..."You will answer me!" She booms. The devil.

"I said Amu's my boss!" He squeaks out.

The door opens, and Nagi nearly drops Rima in relief. He never wanted to be alone in the same room with the blond ever again. "Hello, Amu," greets the blond cooly despite how ridiculous they both looked with Rima hanging in a limp upside down 'L' on his arm while he struggled to hold both of them up with his shaking legs.

"Oh, thank goodness you're okay!" Amu drops the grocery bags and yanks the woman from his arm into her own. He quickly sits down in the chair. "I'm so sorry for what I said before, Rima. It's because you're so wary of others that you keep me from making naïve decisions that I'd later regret."

"It's fine," Rima assures, wrapping her arms around Amu's middle. Nagi is taken aback by how fast her mood changes. "Just don't close the shop like that again." She pulls away to look the pinkette in the eyes, concern drawing her eyebrows together. "You know how risky that is with July 20th coming soon. We only just managed to scrape by this year and if you aren't careful, you could lose your store that you worked so hard for. Promise me."

Amu shakes her head. "You come first, not the store."

"Your job comes first. How else will you make a living?"

"I'll manage," sighs Amu.

"I won't allow that. You will put your shop first because your friend here is obviously fine. Now, let's get back to work." Rima marches out the door with her chin held high. Walking down the stairs, she calls back to them as they pick up the dropped groceries. "And don't forget to fire the Newcomer!"

"Rima!" Came Amu's indignant response to her friend. Turning back to Nagihiko, she says, "She's a good person, really, she just has to get to know you better is all."

He smiles and nods knowing that getting to know her isn't going to be the only challenge. Socializing and making new friends is a department he excels in. Getting past someone's defenses is not. Especially when the walls are as high and guarded as Rima's.


End file.
